Yakupov, I read he thought he needs more TOI. I am sure there is alot of players in Edmonton who think the same. Underchieving Russians (not Ovechkin)?, try underachieving Edmonton. Edmonton should entertain trades for many of it's recent draft picks. The trades though will not be a bag of pucks for a former top pick. Unfortunately for that city the fans will have to have even more patience as management seeks a play style that equals to the rest of the western conference.

The Bs should try to pick up that skill level but I think Edmonton is seeking someone like a Hamilton or Subban et al. Bs management will stay the course.

The problem with the Oil is that you cannot have a team with 25 skill forwards. They need to ship some of those guys out for some capable DMen. Especially since they're putting The Bryz between the pipes.

Hmmm, you've got the Bruins with a great team-first approach that requires each guy carry the load and play the two-way system which has delivered two Stanley Cup finals in three years and a good start so far this year...

...and you've got a spoiled Russian kid with a terrible attitude that doesn't like to hit, backcheck, or play defense...just wants to shoot, has already worn out his welcome in a city desperate for young talent, to the tune of being a healthy scratch on one of the worst teams in the league...and, oh yeah, he's gonna want a huge contract soon, or he might bolt for the KHL...

...and he has 2 goals in 17 games this year (sniper!) and is a minus-14 so far. On pace for something around minus-60 for the season...

...and unless he somehow supplants Iginla or Eriksson, he would be playing on a checking line in Boston, not one of the top two scoring lines. Julien loves checking line guys who don't hit, backcheck, play shorthanded, hustle away from the puck, and generally don't like to "skate all the time"...

...and his current coach hates him...and his agent is a jerk that is now publicly working the media to force Edmonton's hand while driving the potential return steadily downward for the Oliers and creating a huge distraction...

Color me excited. Sounds like fun. I'll do it if the trade is for Cross alone, and Edmonton takes both players salaries...

Well when you look it that way ....I think my idea about acquiring Yakupov isnt that great

"Hi, Nail - did I say that right, "Nah-Eel"? Hey, sorry to see you go, man. Good luck with your new team. My name's Devan, by the way."

As for Chappy's point - everybody seen 300? Great analogy for this Bruin squad. Chappy's right, and I don't think anyone is saying that the Bruins shouldn't have highly skilled players like Seguin or Kessel or even Yakupov. But first and foremost, every player in this system has to execute his responsibility to the system. Like the Spartans, the guy on your wing has to do his job so that you can instinctively, confidently, do yours. So when Hamilton decides to dance through three checkers and take the puck to the low circles, he has to trust that Krejci will rotate back and fill the point. When the forecheck is crashing in on Boychuk, and he has no time to make a decision, his winger has to be where he's supposed to be to support the breakout, even if that means taking a hit. Forwards have to apply backpressure so the puck carrier can't slow down and create separation and open lanes to pass around the D. Guys have to sacrifice the body on the forecheck to create turnovers, establish possession, and wear down the D. And everybody has to do it; you get one guy who "doesn't like" to finish his man, it creates problems for the next guy who was basing his decisions on the expectation that his teammate would finish his check.

In this scenario, Yakupov is the hunchback. No one guy is skilled enough to make up for having a negative impact on the play of four other guys.

Hmmm, you've got the Bruins with a great team-first approach that requires each guy carry the load and play the two-way system which has delivered two Stanley Cup finals in three years and a good start so far this year...

...and you've got a spoiled Russian kid with a terrible attitude that doesn't like to hit, backcheck, or play defense...just wants to shoot, has already worn out his welcome in a city desperate for young talent, to the tune of being a healthy scratch on one of the worst teams in the league...and, oh yeah, he's gonna want a huge contract soon, or he might bolt for the KHL...

...and he has 2 goals in 17 games this year (sniper!) and is a minus-14 so far. On pace for something around minus-60 for the season...

...and unless he somehow supplants Iginla or Eriksson, he would be playing on a checking line in Boston, not one of the top two scoring lines. Julien loves checking line guys who don't hit, backcheck, play shorthanded, hustle away from the puck, and generally don't like to "skate all the time"...

...and his current coach hates him...and his agent is a jerk that is now publicly working the media to force Edmonton's hand while driving the potential return steadily downward for the Oliers and creating a huge distraction...

Color me excited. Sounds like fun. I'll do it if the trade is for Cross alone, and Edmonton takes both players salaries...

Great analysis Fletch...just wanted to make sure that everyone is awake

I think Edmonton is seeking someone like a Hamilton or Subban et al. Bs management will stay the course.

Send them both. Bartkowski and Krug are fine and Subban is unneeded with Rask's million year deal.

What's the equivalent of "glug glug glug, post" for a guy who doesn't drink?

Right now, Hamilton is a better player than Yakupov. In terms of raw talent, I'd say it's a wash. If we're talking potential, Yakupov's potential is a 40+ goal first-line winger. Hamilton's is a 50+ point top pairing defenseman. I'd have to think back a ways on this one, but usually when teams deal a top line scoring forward for a top pairing defenseman, the team that gets the defenseman improves the most. The Chelios for Savard deal is the most obvious example; Savard may have gotten a ring in Montreal, but he was in his jammies when he was celebrating.

Subban and Bartkowski? Probably not enough.

And it's a cow's opinion at any rate. Anyone really think that, because the agent says they'd be willing to explore a trade, MacTavish is going to oblige? Based on the bluster when he took the job, I think Yakupov should be checking out house prices, meet a nice girl for St. Albert, figure out where he wants his kids to go to school. Least likely player on that team to be traded now.

Just a question ....how patient the Bruins will be toward Jordan Caron....I know he is a big physical (6'3" 202 lbs) but has he been up to the B's expectations ? Wouldnt be time to give another youngster a chance (say Spooner or Fraser) .?

and how long will it take before we decide to bench Thornton ??

I would love to see Caron traded and give a chance to Spooner to travel and practice with the team and I would love to see Thornton benched and see Fraser in the line up....

Hmmm, you've got the Bruins with a great team-first approach that requires each guy carry the load and play the two-way system which has delivered two Stanley Cup finals in three years and a good start so far this year...

...and you've got a spoiled Russian kid with a terrible attitude that doesn't like to hit, backcheck, or play defense...just wants to shoot, has already worn out his welcome in a city desperate for young talent, to the tune of being a healthy scratch on one of the worst teams in the league...and, oh yeah, he's gonna want a huge contract soon, or he might bolt for the KHL...

...and he has 2 goals in 17 games this year (sniper!) and is a minus-14 so far. On pace for something around minus-60 for the season...

...and unless he somehow supplants Iginla or Eriksson, he would be playing on a checking line in Boston, not one of the top two scoring lines. Julien loves checking line guys who don't hit, backcheck, play shorthanded, hustle away from the puck, and generally don't like to "skate all the time"...

...and his current coach hates him...and his agent is a jerk that is now publicly working the media to force Edmonton's hand while driving the potential return steadily downward for the Oliers and creating a huge distraction...

Color me excited. Sounds like fun. I'll do it if the trade is for Cross alone, and Edmonton takes both players salaries...

Well when you look it that way ....I think my idea about acquiring Yakupov isnt that great

Getting yakupov for the guys you said would be a steal for the bruins .

I think we may get a little carried away with descibing guys as "Bruins" types of players. Yes we are a defensive team based on a structured system and all of our guys need to be able to play/buy into that system, but that doesn't mean that we can't have any skilled players.

Lou Erickson is not exactly running around hitting people, and Krecji, who we all love, was a complete defensive liability a couple years ago, along with the rest of his line.

We already ran both Seguin and Kessel out of town for now being "tough" enough. But, is that really true? Are the Bruins too tough for skill players? I personally think that the team needs a good mix, but not necessarily all "tough" players and defense first guys. I think Seguin really was just a victim of our strength down the center and we chose Krecji over playing Seguin at his naural position --- which is fine with me.

Yakupov is a world class talent sniper. He is a winger, so wouldn't mess with our depth in the center and would be a significant upgrade over our current third line wingers, or even probably our second line guys. We would have to send somebody the other way however to make room, or break up the merlot line and put some skill down there.

I don't really think we need to mess with the chemistry of this team, but people of that caliber do not become available often so at least worth consideration.

I think you've got a lot wrong there. But here are a few corrections, as I see them:

Eriksson and Krejci are both good two-way players, in that they play the system in the defensive zone too. Running around hitting people has nothing to do with it.

Questioning Krejci's playoff performance is like questioning my dog's ability to sleep. Krejci has been outstanding in the playoffs. Outstanding.

Seguin and Kessel were not 'run out of town' because they weren't 'tough enough' That's perposterous. All of the complaints about them were regarding production and consistency. For example, one goal in 22 playoffs games is a problem for an up and coming star. The worst +/- on the team is too. (and accepting a very good trade offer isn't 'running them out of town either')

Mr. 'world class sniper' Yakupov has 2 goals in 17 games this year. And his opportunities are probably far greater in Edmonton than they would be in Boston.

Look, I know he's a great raw talent, but he's been a mess in Edmonton and has shown terrible attitude Meanwhile, the Bruins are scoring and winning. I don't see the need, short-term, and how can you possible make long term committments to him with all of the current uncertainty -- production, attitude, contract, agent, KHL, etc?

A couple corrections to your corrections:

Krecji, and the rest of his line had terrible +/- two years ago relative to the rest of the team. Look it up. The point I was making is that neither of those two players who are highly regarded are "tough". I never questioned his playoff performance and I actually said I was fine with them dealing Seguin and keeping Krecji as our #1 -- mostly due to the fact that Krecji is such a great, proven playoff performer.

Apparently you don't read the news because both Kessel and Seguin were skewered in the press. To me that is being "run out of town". If you don't think it had to do with toughness, again, I'm not sure of what news sources you were looking at.

Great job pointing out Seguin's playoff points given that he was demoted in favor of Jagr who did nothing and it effectively broke up the line that was the Bruins most effective thoughout the regular season last year. If you look at Seguins advanced stats (good articles about this at StanleyCupof Chowder) he drove possession, shots and offence and was generally snake-bitten in terms of being able to convert his chances. It is unfair to compare Seguin playing on the third line to what we would have expected from him playing on the line he played on all season. Bad puck luck happens to all players at one time or another, but they don't all get demoted to play with an otherwise non existent thrid line that struggled all season. I would argue that if he was left with Bergie and Marchand, that line would have been more effective than it was with Jagr hogging the puck.

The fact is that both were/are great talents that will have very successful careers, so to bash them as if they suck is just plain stupid. Actually, I agree that Kessel is defensively challenged (and still is), but Seguin I think bought in and was playing a responsible game. I seem to remember a number of times where he broke up scoring chances hustling back into the zone, and his +/- was never bad.

I like the Bruins, I get our formula, and I have no problem with the trade(s). I just don't think we should dismiss our ability to integrate talented offensive players into the team. Coaching, teamates, and good locker room culture can change a lot of things in the development of a young player. Edmonton is filled with young offensive guys with limited commitment to defense and that is why they suck now and will continue to suck for a while. For a kid like Yakupov coming in as a #1 draft pick, I'm sure it is tough to accept limited ice time and tough love from the coaching staff when all he sees is a bunch of other young offensive guys like himself getting time.

Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: The Flyers are “vigorously” shopping Luke Schenn and Andrej Mezsaros. Schenn has $3.6 million cap hit for the next three years and Mezsaros has a $4 million cap hit for this season."

MacTavish wants Simmonds, not going to happen. I do think Edmonton and Philly strike a deal at some point. The Oilers could use some toughness but need most of it on the blueline.

If Yapukov gets dealt it will have to be somehere he can play top 6 minutes. Florida, New Jersey or Dallas would be good spots.

Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: The Flyers are “vigorously” shopping Luke Schenn and Andrej Mezsaros. Schenn has $3.6 million cap hit for the next three years and Mezsaros has a $4 million cap hit for this season."

MacTavish wants Simmonds, not going to happen. I do think Edmonton and Philly strike a deal at some point. The Oilers could use some toughness but need most of it on the blueline.

If Yapukov gets dealt it will have to be somehere he can play top 6 minutes. Florida, New Jersey or Dallas would be good spots.

Exactly, and for that reason he will not be coming to Boston. Unless Florida would include Gudbranson, I would take them out as I can't see Edmonton trading him for picks. They need some results now. New Jersey I could see, and who knows about Tampa with with Stamkos out.

I love skilled players even if they aren't physical. I liked Kessel and I really liked Seguin. But I wouldn't want Yakupov anywhere near this team. There is no where in the lineup he could be added to make the team better this year.

I'd be cool with dealing Subban to the Oilers, but why not go for a 1st rounder? It could be a top-5, the player would be younger and possibly more valuable than Yakupov. Nail to me looks like he has bust written all over him. His attitude makes Seguin look like Bergeron, and it's not like he isn't getting playing time in Edmonton. 15.5 minutes a game should be enough for any player to do their thing.

I don't even think a comparison to Seguin is fair at all -- to Tyler. To me, Seguin has proven that he has a pretty good attitude, belongs in the league, and is likely to be a pretty elite player. He left a lot of talent on the table in Boston and didn't show up for some critical playoff hockey, but you know he's gonna be a good player for a long time, and probably will even be a good teammate.

Yakupov has proven none of that. Loads of skill, but I think the Bruins would be on of the worst fits for him. He needs lots of ice time on a scoring line. Not marginal ice time on a Boston checking line, with demands to do all of the things he hates doing in Edmonton. I'm thinking maybe Buffalo, or New Jersey, or Nashville -- where he can start in the top six and sink or swim. Putting him on a 3rd line somewhere seems let setting him up to fail.

I hate to expose a North American bias, but if you look at some of Edmonton's most highly drafted/highly regarded forward prospects of recent years, you're bound to notice a 'continental divide', if you will.

I love skilled players even if they aren't physical. I liked Kessel and I really liked Seguin. But I wouldn't want Yakupov anywhere near this team. There is no where in the lineup he could be added to make the team better this year.

I'd be cool with dealing Subban to the Oilers, but why not go for a 1st rounder? It could be a top-5, the player would be younger and possibly more valuable than Yakupov. Nail to me looks like he has bust written all over him. His attitude makes Seguin look like Bergeron, and it's not like he isn't getting playing time in Edmonton. 15.5 minutes a game should be enough for any player to do their thing.

save subban to use in a package to deal for weber in a couple years when chara is on the decline and the preds are looking to move rinne and weber to rebuild

Krecji, and the rest of his line had terrible +/- two years ago relative to the rest of the team. Look it up. The point I was making is that neither of those two players who are highly regarded are "tough". I never questioned his playoff performance and I actually said I was fine with them dealing Seguin and keeping Krecji as our #1 -- mostly due to the fact that Krecji is such a great, proven playoff performer.

Apparently you don't read the news because both Kessel and Seguin were skewered in the press. To me that is being "run out of town". If you don't think it had to do with toughness, again, I'm not sure of what news sources you were looking at.

Great job pointing out Seguin's playoff points given that he was demoted in favor of Jagr who did nothing and it effectively broke up the line that was the Bruins most effective thoughout the regular season last year. If you look at Seguins advanced stats (good articles about this at StanleyCupof Chowder) he drove possession, shots and offence and was generally snake-bitten in terms of being able to convert his chances. It is unfair to compare Seguin playing on the third line to what we would have expected from him playing on the line he played on all season. Bad puck luck happens to all players at one time or another, but they don't all get demoted to play with an otherwise non existent thrid line that struggled all season. I would argue that if he was left with Bergie and Marchand, that line would have been more effective than it was with Jagr hogging the puck.

The fact is that both were/are great talents that will have very successful careers, so to bash them as if they suck is just plain stupid. Actually, I agree that Kessel is defensively challenged (and still is), but Seguin I think bought in and was playing a responsible game. I seem to remember a number of times where he broke up scoring chances hustling back into the zone, and his +/- was never bad.

I like the Bruins, I get our formula, and I have no problem with the trade(s). I just don't think we should dismiss our ability to integrate talented offensive players into the team. Coaching, teamates, and good locker room culture can change a lot of things in the development of a young player. Edmonton is filled with young offensive guys with limited commitment to defense and that is why they suck now and will continue to suck for a while. For a kid like Yakupov coming in as a #1 draft pick, I'm sure it is tough to accept limited ice time and tough love from the coaching staff when all he sees is a bunch of other young offensive guys like himself getting time.

Corrections to corrected corrections -- quickly as I am out of time:

Plus/minus is either important or it isn't. You're dinging Krejci on his +/-. He's a career plus-68. Yakupov is a career -18. I know Krejci is on a better team, but you still can't make the plus/minus comparison there, as a knock on Krejci. And it isn't everyone in Edmonton playing that way either -- Yakupov has THE worst +/- on the team. Dead last.

You did question Krejci's playoff performance (no?) -- re-read your earlier post. He's been awesome in the playoffs. Led everyone in playoff scoring when they won the Cup. Could have been Stanley Cup MVP.

We are talking about these players from a GM's standpoint. The Bruins and their GM did not run Seguin or Kessel out of town. They traded them. What the media did seems irrelvant to me. For me as fan, I was not concerned with their 'toughness', I was concerned with productivity and their ability to help their team win.

Why do you think Seguin was 'demoted' (not sure I agree) behind Jagr in the playoffs? Given 1 playoff goal in 22 games, do you think that Seguin should have received more ice time in the playoffs? That's great that he hustled, but c'mon, that guy needs to be a scorer. We have Daniel Paille for hustle.

Lastly, I agree that we should not dismiss potential star players that have more finesse/finish than grit. I just don't think Yakupov is the right guy.

Honest question, especially since you started the Worst Attitude Ever thread...what indication is there that The Yak cares a single iota? He's on record as saying he's not going to change his game to fit a certain style of play.

The B's may be giving Edmonton more than they are getting back, but they also have a gluttony of talent. You also have to give to get.

Subban is 100% unneeded in Boston. See ya to him.

I think Bartkowski, Krug and Yakupov are more valuable to the team on the ice than Krug and Hamilton on the ice, Bartkowski in the pressbox and Subban either on the pine or in the minors.

All that's fine, but for the risk associated with that talent? What makes Yakupov a commodity you'd overpay to acquire? And whether or not Subban is needed in Boston, he could be a valuable chip to address a future need that's much more pressing than a highly talented project who would have to start on the third line.

Getting yakupov for the guys you said would be a steal for the bruins .

My guess is Edmonton (without looking at their cap) would want NHL players. In my opinion they can't deal Yakupov for picks.

BTW, I've made fun of you in the past for your grammar. I don't have an IPhone, usually post from my laptop. I tried posting from my wifes IPhone the other day. Holy jumping, it looked like another language. So, I apologize.

Krecji, and the rest of his line had terrible +/- two years ago relative to the rest of the team. Look it up. The point I was making is that neither of those two players who are highly regarded are "tough". I never questioned his playoff performance and I actually said I was fine with them dealing Seguin and keeping Krecji as our #1 -- mostly due to the fact that Krecji is such a great, proven playoff performer.

Apparently you don't read the news because both Kessel and Seguin were skewered in the press. To me that is being "run out of town". If you don't think it had to do with toughness, again, I'm not sure of what news sources you were looking at.

Great job pointing out Seguin's playoff points given that he was demoted in favor of Jagr who did nothing and it effectively broke up the line that was the Bruins most effective thoughout the regular season last year. If you look at Seguins advanced stats (good articles about this at StanleyCupof Chowder) he drove possession, shots and offence and was generally snake-bitten in terms of being able to convert his chances. It is unfair to compare Seguin playing on the third line to what we would have expected from him playing on the line he played on all season. Bad puck luck happens to all players at one time or another, but they don't all get demoted to play with an otherwise non existent thrid line that struggled all season. I would argue that if he was left with Bergie and Marchand, that line would have been more effective than it was with Jagr hogging the puck.

The fact is that both were/are great talents that will have very successful careers, so to bash them as if they suck is just plain stupid. Actually, I agree that Kessel is defensively challenged (and still is), but Seguin I think bought in and was playing a responsible game. I seem to remember a number of times where he broke up scoring chances hustling back into the zone, and his +/- was never bad.

I like the Bruins, I get our formula, and I have no problem with the trade(s). I just don't think we should dismiss our ability to integrate talented offensive players into the team. Coaching, teamates, and good locker room culture can change a lot of things in the development of a young player. Edmonton is filled with young offensive guys with limited commitment to defense and that is why they suck now and will continue to suck for a while. For a kid like Yakupov coming in as a #1 draft pick, I'm sure it is tough to accept limited ice time and tough love from the coaching staff when all he sees is a bunch of other young offensive guys like himself getting time.

Corrections to corrected corrections -- quickly as I am out of time:

Plus/minus is either important or it isn't. You're dinging Krejci on his +/-. He's a career plus-68. Yakupov is a career -18. I know Krejci is on a better team, but you still can't make the plus/minus comparison there, as a knock on Krejci. And it isn't everyone in Edmonton playing that way either -- Yakupov has THE worst +/- on the team. Dead last.

You did question Krejci's playoff performance (no?) -- re-read your earlier post. He's been awesome in the playoffs. Led everyone in playoff scoring when they won the Cup. Could have been Stanley Cup MVP.

We are talking about these players from a GM's standpoint. The Bruins and their GM did not run Seguin or Kessel out of town. They traded them. What the media did seems irrelvant to me. For me as fan, I was not concerned with their 'toughness', I was concerned with productivity and their ability to help their team win.

Why do you think Seguin was 'demoted' (not sure I agree) behind Jagr in the playoffs? Given 1 playoff goal in 22 games, do you think that Seguin should have received more ice time in the playoffs? That's great that he hustled, but c'mon, that guy needs to be a scorer. We have Daniel Paille for hustle.

Lastly, I agree that we should not dismiss potential star players that have more finesse/finish than grit. I just don't think Yakupov is the right guy.